For personal and/or safety reasons it is often desirable to prohibit the use of certain electrically operated devices. For example, when parents desire to prevent their children from watching certain television programs, it may be necessary to prevent the television set from being operated. Similarly, with potentially dangerous power tools, such as a table saw, it is desirable to prevent children or an unauthorized individual from using such a tool. The simplest way to achieve either of these goals is to unplug the device from its associated electrical outlet, and thereafter preclude the unauthorized user from reinserting the electrical plug into an outlet.
Additionally, it is desirable that any means utilized to preclude use of the electrical device be permanently retained by the electrical device to allow ease of use as well as minimizing any possibility of misplacement.
It is therefore desirable to have available a security device to prevent the unauthorized use of electrically powered devices which is permanently retained by the electrical device.
Prior art plug locking mechanisms have generally been restricted to use with certain types of plugs, or alternatively have been constructed in a complicated and costly manner. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,654,073 and 2,844,805 disclose devices which are limited in their usage to plugs having a predetermined number of prongs and/or a set arrangement therebetween. However, as electrical plug styles change according to voltage and/or grounding requirements, or where a plug is designed to be used in foreign countries, such devices cannot be utilized. It is therefore beneficial to have a universal plug securing device which can be used with any type of electrical plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,764 discloses an electrical plug locking apparatus which will preclude access to an electrical plug, without regard to the type of plug being used while also retaining the apparatus when same is not in use. This apparatus, however, requires the use of a multitude of custom-made parts which can result in increased production costs. For an original equipment manufacturer these costs may be prohibitive, rendering such a device impractical.
U.S patent application Ser. No. 756,507, owned by the inventor of the present application, discloses an electrical plug locking apparatus which captures an electrical plug within an enclosure. The enclosure has securing means in the form of slits in the enclosure through which an electrical cord is received for retaining the electrical cord and the enclosure in assembled relation. However, these securing means might be subject to breakage after continual usage depending on the materials used in constructing the enclosure.
With the deficiencies noted with regard to the prior art devices, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus permanently secured to an electrical cable for preventing the unauthorized use of electrical devices that is designed using relatively few parts, thereby being simple and inexpensive to produce, while also being durable and easy to use.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.